Question About Author Names.

Hi, Roxi, and welcome to AW!

It's totally up to the author what name they credit the book to - though if your publisher throws up any problems later (eg the book will sell better if it's by a single male name, or whatever) then that needs to be negotiated when you make the deal.

The cover page you do yourself doesn't matter much, as the format will be decided by the publisher, so you can put & or and, whichever you prefer. When both surnames are the same it's probably slightly more elegant to put eg 'by John and Mary Smith' rather than 'by John Smith and Mary Smith', but again, it's up to you.

If one writer has done substantially more than another (or if one has a higher and more saleable profile) then the common thing seems to be to use 'with' rather than 'and' - eg 'John Smith, with Mary Smith'. Dorothy Sayers, Stephen King and James Patterson, for instance, have all done that at some point with a lesser known writer.

I hope that helps a little.

Hi Roxanne,

And welcome to AW! Don't get discouraged by multiple opens vs responses. I think you'll probably find, on average a 10:1 ratio (readost) to any thread (if not higher). It's nothing personal, it's just that frequently folks will read a post and have no info to share, so they don't respond.

I haven't an answer to your question, so typically would not have posted a response to say 'sorry, can't help'. However, I noticed you were newer to our boards and wanted to give you welcome and encouragement.

Best wishes!